This year, the Cy Young debate is hardly a debate at all. It seems like a forgone conclusion that Jake Peavy will take home the hardware for the NL, while C.C. Sabathia will be the AL pitcher clearing off his mantel. I suppose I can agree with that. Thus, this post will be dedicated to acknowledging this year’s also-rans.

In the NL, Peavy’s 19-6 record, 223.1 IP, 240 K’s, and 2.54 ERA are hot indeed. But Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks made the same number of starts (34) and pitched more innings (236.1) leading to a few more decisions (18-10). Of course, his ERA is higher (3.01) and his strikeouts were fewer (194). I feel I also ought to mention Brad Penny of the Dodgers and John Smoltz of the Braves. Neither was good enough to be the NL Cy this year, of course, but they still put up good numbers. In fact, their numbers were eerily similar to one another’s. Except, of course, for Smoltz’s better strikeout rate. And we throw a tiny scrap in the direction of Aaron Harang of Cincinnati, for being the Chien-Ming Wang of the NL. Only, because he doesn’t pitch for the Yankees, his name hasn’t been bandied about at all. I’m sure he feels, if not harangued (ha) then at least a bit forlorn.

In the AL, Cleveland’s Sabathia has been a beast. 241 innings pitched! 34 starts! 209 strikeouts! Only 37 walks! And his 3.21 ERA ain’t too shabby either. Plus, I’m sure Cleveland is very happy with the 19-7 record. And he seems determined to single-handedly revive the lost art of the complete game. Of course, he wasn’t exactly masterful against the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS, but he was good enough to get by. But our sympathies should really extend to Fausto Carmona. If he hadn’t been so overshadowed by the No. 1 starter on his own team, we might be talking about him for the Cy. His ERA is an even better 3.06, and though he pitched fewer innings (215 in 32 starts) and didn’t strike out nearly as many (137) or walk so few (61), his record is nearly identical at 19-8. Then there’s Josh Beckett of the Red Sox, the only 20-game winner during the regular season. No sign of fatigue, either, as he threw a complete-game shutout against the Angels in Game 1 of the ALDS. His 194 K’s and 40 walks in 200.2 innings (in 30 starts) aren’t anything to sneeze at, and his ERA of 3.27 is perfectly decent. But even the nice, round number of 20 wins isn’t quite enough to dislodge C.C. from his throne. Finally, John Lackey has barely gotten a mention, even though he has the best ERA in the league (3.01) and a comparable record (19-9). His 224 IP in 33 starts are better than the other also-rans, and his 179 K’s and 52 walks are certainly comparable. Yet his candidacy barely got any airtime. No, people wanted to talk about Chien-Ming Wang instead. While Wang’s season was impressive, his numbers definitely put him at the bottom of the pack (see Aaron Harang, above). And we curtly nod in the direction of Scott Kazmir, who was the AL strikeout leader this season, but walked 89 batters and who couldn’t do better than 13-9 because of Tampa Bay’s atrocious bullpen. We also acknowledge Eric Bedard, whose monstrous 10.93 K/9 rate would surely have gotten him better than a 13-5 record were he not toiling away for the Orioles.

Remember, also-rans: there’s always next year.

“Fuck this place.”

That was what Anaheim pitcher John Lackey said this afternoon, in the first of two games today in Fenway, as the game started to slip away from him in just the first inning. Boston’s No. 8 hitter, Doug Mirabelli (usually knuckeballer Tim Wakefield’s specialty catcher, but getting the start so that Varitek could catch Beckett in tonight’s game) lofted a towering fly ball to left field. It was only the first inning, and Dougie’s fly ball scored the inning’s fifth run (the Sox would have six when all was said and done). In any other ballpark, that fly ball would have been out number three. In Fenway, it was a wall-ball double. As the camera cut to Lackey for his reaction, his lips were clearly readable.

The Red Sox might end up wishing Mirabelli had flied out—as he rounded the third base bag (when No. 9 hitter, bench warmer Alex Cora lined another double), he injured his calf and ended up limping across home plate and promptly into the clubhouse. Varitek was squatting behind the dish when the second inning opened. This could end up being a day of even crazier roster moves than originally anticipated—Wily Mo Pena was dealt this morning to the Washington Nationals for cash and a player to be named. (Ouch. That’s what 450-foot homers will get you when you can’t play defense and have no plate discipline.) That made room on the roster for this afternoon’s starter, Clay Buchholz, who was then going to be sent back to Pawtucket after the game to make room for centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who would play tonight. Ellsbury, it was rumored, would then be sent down to make room for Bobby Kielty, who would play tomorrow’s game. But if Mirabelli is seriously injured, what do the Red Sox do? In the short term, it could be a very long day for Jason Varitek.

What will the Sox do if they need a catcher ASAP? Even if they asked for a catcher from Washington, players-to-be-named aren’t usually known for their caliber. Their catcher in Pawtucket is George Kottaras, hitting .233 with 6 homers this season. Last season he did well enough in single A to earn a mid-season promotion to the double A club. He’s not renowned for his defense but he does have experience catching knuckleballs—which, in Boston’s point of view, is the single most important quality in any backup catcher. Anyways, for now I’m keeping my fingers crossed the Dougie just tweaked his calf and can play in tonight’s game, or possibly tomorrow’s.

But the story of the first half of today’s doubleheader was supposed to be Clay Buccholz, a 23-year old righty among the gems in Boston’s farm system making his major league debut today.  He has a good fastball (which he still needs to remember to keep down from time to time) that tops out at about 96 or 97, but which he usually throws at about 92 or 94. But don’t be fooled. His real strength is with his breaking stuff. His curveball has generated some heavy drool in the greater Boston area—its 12-to-6 motion is so big that it sometimes ends up outside the strikezone. But it’s his changeup that helped him out today. It’s about 15 mph slower than his heat, but he throws it with the same intensity and arm-action. Nasty.

In the spirit of hot prospects, the text of last week’s Metro GameDay column on the subject is after the jump. (For the “Futures at Fenway” game, where the double-A Portland SeaDogs play the single-A Lowell Spinners at Fenway Park; GameDay is Metro’s free baseball program distributed at Fenway before every home game.)

And for those of you who hate Julio Lugo (which seems to be most folks here at UmpBump) here’s today’s GameDay piece.

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Last night, after allowing a leadoff double to Mark Kotsay, Angels pitcher John Lackey retired the next 27 batters he faced. So was Lackey pissed at himself for giving up that double, which cost him a perfect game? From the L.A. Times:

In speaking with reporters, Lackey denied he fed off any motivation besides pitching against Zito, and against the team in first place in the Angels’ division. He also said he didn’t leave the ballpark with that just-missed-a-perfect-game feeling.

“I don’t feel like I just missed,” he said. “I was in the stretch trying to get out of a jam right out of the gate.”

Ok, John, whatever you say.

Lackey became the first pitcher in 24 years to give up a leadoff hit and retire the next 27 batters. Jerry Reuss last did it, pitching for the Dodgers on June 11, 1982, against the Cincinnati Reds.